Buncombe County News

This news item expired on 4/25/2013, so the information below could be outdated or incorrect.

4-H Pollination Gazers Project

Join us for this engaging science education project for children sponsored by the Buncombe County 4-H Program in coordination with Bee City USA, a program of the Center for Honeybee Research.

Budding 7 to 13-year-old naturalists will get up close and personal with hardworking bumble bees, mason bees, honey bees, orchard bees, hummingbirds, moths, beetles and butterflies – tiny critters that make 87% of the world’s plants bloom, reproduce, and make food for humans and animals.

The project will span several weeks starting the end of April and ending in late June. Most activity will be Internet-based with weekly pollinator observation and reporting at www.beecityusa.org interactive website.

The 4-H program will host an initial orientation for families on April 25 from 5:00 to 6:30 p.m. at the downtown Buncombe County Cooperative Extension Service office at 94 Coxe Avenue.

During National Pollinator Week (beginning June 16), a final gathering will celebrate local pollinators, the bounty of flowers and the achievement of each budding naturalist with a “Pollinator Gazer” certificate.

Families will learn about the importance of pollination and its agents. They'll receive instructions on how to do field observation in their own backyards, and receive flowering plants to take home as the basis for their weekly field online reports.

What YOU Will Need: A sunny spot for planting a couple of flowers in your backyard, in flowerpots, or another location; regular email access; and weekly access to the Internet. The ability to take and send digital pictures will be a plus and a printer may be helpful.

Register by phone or email to 4-H Coordinator Holly Jordan at the Extension Office at 828-255-5522 or Holly_Jordan@ncsu.edu.

For more information, call Bee City USA Project Coordinator Jean-Jacques Maury at 828-318-8586 or Jean0Jacques@yahoo.com.